The entire episode reminds us of the dangers of
manipulating martyrdom for political gain and, in particular, of the case of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero.In the wake of Archb.
Romero’s assassination, “Rightists accused leftists” of the crime, “saying they hoped to create a martyr” by killing Romero and creating the (false)
impression that he had been killed by the far-right, therefore besmirching the right.Following violence at Archb. Romero’s
funeral, once again, the right blamed the left for the disturbances, even claiming that leftists “had planned to kidnap Romero’s body and casket.”Both claims
have been universally discredited.The
intervening years saw continual attempts by the left to use Archb. Romero “as their badge, as an emblematic figure”—in
the words of Pope Benedict.They claimed
that his message vindicated their cause, which, ironically, had been the same
false accusation by the right that led to Archb. Romero's assassination.Some lessons to draw: (1) In a complicated
political climate, it is sometimes hard to tell what happened and it is better
to wait till all the dust settles.In
the wake of the Romero assassination, the L.A. Times observed that, “it could just as easily have been the
extreme left as the extreme right” who was responsible for the
killing.(2) In that confused setting,
competing factions “could hope to reap
advantage from [creating] anarchy”
and confusion (this observation was about El Salvador but it can apply
anywhere).(3) As Pope Benedict observed
about Romero, any manipulation comes at the expense of the subject—Fr. Murad or
Archb. Romero: “How can we shed light on
his person in the right way and protect it from these attempts to exploit it?
This is the problem.”

In Archb. Romero’s case, all the flagrant manipulation created
delays in what many—including Pope Benedict—believe to be a worthy cause for
the sainthood.This is a danger that we
should be conscientious to want to avoid, especially those who care about our
faith and its martyrs.